Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer
    In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer
    In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer
    Ebook165 pages3 hours

    In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer

    By Debbie McGowan

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Dan is about to find out that being a careful driver is sometimes not enough;
    An old lover’s return rekindles fond memories for Alice;
    Sean works his psychology magic on the ever-stubborn Jess.

    * * * * *

    ‘Cancer’ is the seventh episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

    In The Stars explores the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now it their late thirties—following them through celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions.

    Each episode covers the period of time indicated by the zodiac sign from which it takes its title.

    The full novels of In The Stars Part I: Capricorn–Gemini and In The Stars Part II: Cancer–Sagittarius are also available for purchase (paperback/ebook).

    In The Stars Part II is season five in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series.

    The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six).

    * * * * *

    What readers say about the Hiding Behind The Couch Series:

    “The remarkable characterisation in these novels is what makes them for me.”

    “This story reminds me of my favorite movies about friendship and relationships.”

    “Few authors have explored the depths of longtime friends within a group, or ‘circle’ the way Debbie McGowan has!”

    “I have a love-hate relationship with Debbie McGowan’s Hiding Behind the Couch Series. I love to read them, I HATE it when they’re over.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBeaten Track Publishing
    Release dateJun 28, 2014
    ISBN9781909192683
    In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer
    Author

    Debbie McGowan

    Debbie McGowan is an award-winning author of contemporary fiction that celebrates life, love and relationships in all their diversity. Since the publication in 2004 of her debut novel, Champagne—based on a stage show co-written and co-produced with her husband—she has published many further works—novels, short stories and novellas—including two ongoing series: Hiding Behind The Couch (a literary ‘soap opera’ centring on the lives of nine long-term friends) and Checking Him Out (LGBTQ romance). Debbie has been a finalist in both the Rainbow Awards and the Bisexual Book Awards, and in 2016, she won the Lambda Literary Award (Lammy) for her novel, When Skies Have Fallen: a British historical romance spanning twenty-three years, from the end of WWII to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. Through her independent publishing company, Debbie gives voices to other authors whose work would be deemed unprofitable by mainstream publishing houses.

    Read more from Debbie Mc Gowan

    Related to In The Stars Part II, Episode 7

    Related ebooks

    Psychological Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Watch Your Step

      Nov 19, 2020

      Watch Your Step
      5 min read

    • Article

      Following A Dream

      Sep 12, 2019

      THE OCEAN VOYAGER AND ME Di Beach Published by Amazon, 2014, £13.74 (paperback) and £5.63 (Kindle) Di Beach, 20, was living in Kampala in the 1960s with her architect husband, Rod Pickering, and their baby daughter, Jojo. One Saturday they were forag

      4 min read

    • Article

      A holiday INDOORS

      Apr 7, 2021

      “You’ll have probably noticed that there’s been very little mention on this page during the past year of lockdowns and respiratory disease and bubbles and masks and toilet roll shortages and quarantine, and illicit Darby and Joan club meetings being

      3 min read

    • Article

      I Met Myself Coming Back

      Oct 6, 2022

      I Met Myself Coming Back
      6 min read

    • Article

      Diary Of An Indo Feral

      Feb 28, 2020

      Diary Of An Indo Feral
      8 min read

    • Article

      Tales From The Backcountry

      Feb 24, 2020

      Tales From The Backcountry
      5 min read

    • Article

      Endurance

      Nov 17, 2020

      Endurance
      7 min read

    • Article

      A SOFT Purgatory

      May 31, 2019

      A SOFT Purgatory
      9 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Dec 1, 2020

      Table Talk
      13 min read

    • Article

      The Joy Of Boxing Day

      Nov 19, 2020

      The Joy Of Boxing Day
      5 min read

    • Article

      Surviving Sandy

      Oct 4, 2022

      Surviving Sandy
      5 min read

    • Article

      Sam Owbridge

      Dec 14, 2022

      Sam Owbridge
      4 min read

    • Article

      Smile Like They Mean It

      Jul 21, 2023

      Smile Like They Mean It
      10 min read

    • Article

      Tom Cunliffe

      Jan 29, 2021

      Tom Cunliffe
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tom Cunliffe

      Jan 29, 2021

      Tom Cunliffe
      5 min read

    • Article

      Best Anniversary Trip Ever!

      Mar 25, 2023

      Best Anniversary Trip Ever!
      6 min read

    • Article

      For The Cast Of 'Schitt's Creek,' The End Is Near. That Means One Thing: Heartache

      Jan 7, 2020

      ORANGEVILLE, Canada - To get to the Rosebud Motel, proprietors Johnny Rose and Stevie Budd, you drive northwest from Toronto for an hour, through fields of suburban McMansions, flat farmland giving way to rolling hills sheltering country estates with

      10 min read

    • Article

      SHADOWS Out Of The

      Jul 17, 2020

      SHADOWS Out Of The
      7 min read

    • Article

      What – Still No Divorce?

      Aug 28, 2020

      What – Still No Divorce?
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Turn Of The Tide

      Sep 24, 2020

      The Turn Of The Tide
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Only Way Is Up

      Apr 1, 2021

      The Only Way Is Up
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for In The Stars Part II, Episode 7

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      In The Stars Part II, Episode 7 - Debbie McGowan

      In The Stars Part II, Episode 7: Cancer

      Hiding Behind The Couch

      Season Five

      by

      Debbie McGowan

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      * * * * *

      Second Edition

      Published 2018 by Beaten Track Publishing

      First published 2014

      Copyright 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 Debbie McGowan at Smashwords.

      https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/debbiemcgowan

      This book is available in print at most online retailers.

      Cover Design by Debbie McGowan

      Licensed stock images: usage is not indicative

      of the models’ identity, activities or preferences.

      Zodiac Illustrations by Emma Pickering

      http://www.beatentrackpublishing.com

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      * * * * *

      This novel is a work of fiction and the characters and events in it exist only in its pages and in the author’s imagination.

      * * * * *

      Dan is about to find out that being a careful driver is sometimes not enough;

      An old lover’s return rekindles fond memories for Alice;

      Sean works his psychology magic on the ever-stubborn Jess.

      * * * * *

      ‘Cancer’ is the seventh episode of In The Stars. For those readers unfamiliar with the series, ‘Capricorn’ (episode one) re-introduces the main characters, so you could pick it up from here and perhaps catch up with the previous books later.

      In The Stars explores the day-to-day lives of The Circle—nine friends from high school, now it their late thirties—following them through celebration, loss, illness and life-changing decisions.

      Each episode covers the period of time indicated by the zodiac sign from which it takes its title.

      The full novels of In The Stars Part I: Capricorn–Gemini and In The Stars Part II: Cancer–Sagittarius are also available for purchase (paperback/ebook).

      In The Stars Part II is season five in the Hiding Behind The Couch Series.

      The story follows chronologically from In The Stars Part I (Season Four) and Breaking Waves (Novella). It continues in A Midnight Clear (Novella), Red Hot Christmas (Novella) and Two By Two (Season Six).

      * * * * *

      Dedication

      For Eileen:

      See you in the next one. Maybe.

      And for the Dog People:

      we are a transient population,

      unthwarted by rain, wind, snow,

      sun-baked earth and horse flies;

      may the source of our insanity

      remain our salvation.

      * * * * *

      Acknowledgements

      Thank you to my wonderful proof-readers, Tracy and Andrea, for your persistence in / insistence on finding and then laughing at my dreadful mistakes, not to mention your extraordinary expertise in all matters, but in particular, those of bingo and healthcare! The Circle thank you, too!

      Much gratitude to Hans M Hirschi, for checking and correcting my dodgy Norwegian / Swedish translations, even though we had only just ‘met’!

      Hans also writes beautiful stories – visit his website to find out more. www.hirschi.se

      Thanks also to Beth, for excellent chat show related creative input.

      Elliot Sanchez lives because of you.

      ***

      Excerpts from:

      ‘The Signs’, by Henry Van Dyke

      The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Poems of Henry Van Dyke.

      Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.

      Macbeth, by William Shakespeare.

      Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.

      Reproduced under the terms of the

      Project Gutenberg Licence.

      www.gutenberg.org

      ‘Footprints In Your Heart’, by Eleanor Roosevelt;

      also attributed as

      ‘Today is a Gift’, by Laszlo Kotro-Kosztandi.

      Further bibliographic information unavailable.

      * * * * *

      Table of Contents

      Acknowledgements

      Dedication

      One For My Baby: Saturday 24th June

      Low Tide: Friday 23rd June

      High Tide: Friday 23rd June

      Wipeout: Saturday 24th June

      Breakthrough: Saturday 24th June

      Then: Early July, 32 years ago

      Now: Sunday 2nd–Monday 3rd July

      The Full Monty: Tuesday 4th July

      More Than Words: Friday 7th July

      Behind Blue Eyes: Wednesday 12th July

      Dead Funny: Thursday 20th July

      The Story Continues…

      About The Author

      By The Author

      * * * * *

      It’s the time-birth-death gimmick. Can’t go on much longer, too many people are wising up.

      William S. Burroughs

      * * * * *

      Cancer

      Learn from the crab, O runner fresh and fleet,

      Sideways to move, or backward, when discreet;

      Life is not all advance—sometimes retreat!

      One For My Baby

      Saturday 24th June

      They were cruising down the middle lane when Dan saw the HGV on his inside indicate and start moving out. No time to think: in his rear-view mirror, a van coming up behind; in his wing mirror, a cabriolet fast approaching on the outside lane. He could only hope that they, too, would see him as he indicated and moved out.

      If he’d stayed where he was, the lorry would have pushed him into the outside lane anyway. Instead, the shunt from the convertible caught his offside rear wing, spinning him directly into the path of the van, which swerved right, scraped along the four-by-four’s nearside and set it careering sideways across the inside lane, facing the wrong direction. The front axle hit the bank of the reservation with such force that the car bounced twice before rolling onto its side.

      Against the backdrop of screeching brakes and multiple collisions, the engine momentarily screamed high revs, smoking wheels spinning free in the open air, and died away to nothing.

      I’ll be home by seven, babe. See ya later. The HGV driver pulled out his earpiece and glanced in his mirror to see what the commotion was. Lucky that. Could’ve held me up for hours. He unmuted the radio and continued his journey.

      Low Tide

      Friday 23rd June

      24 Hours Earlier

      Dan parked the four-by-four in the car park next to the hotel and checked the time.

      Four hours, fifty-seven minutes, he bragged. Andy didn’t pass comment, his eyes glazed, staring into the distance. I beat you by a long shot, bro.

      Yeah, Andy replied vaguely, still not really listening. Dan turned away from his brother to see what had him rapt.

      Whoa.

      It had been late in the evening when they’d delivered Josh and George to their honeymoon location, and Dan hadn’t got to see the bay. The view was spectacular, an expanse of exquisite golden sand stretching out to meet the white-laced edge of the glistening turquoise ocean.

      You weren’t kidding, were you?

      What’s that, bro? Andy asked dreamily.

      About it being perfect. Now they were both at it. I wonder when the next high tide is?

      Eighteen seventeen. The forecast’s looking good, too. Offshore wind, clean three to four at eight and building. Should be some decent action out there this afternoon.

      Dan raised an eyebrow. Of course his brother would know the surf forecast; he’d always lived for adventure. Sadly, these days, he mostly had to settle for imagining, or experiencing it vicariously. For instance, on the first drive down, Dan had overheard Andy telling George about the surf school on the beach, from which he could also hire a wetsuit and board if he fancied having a go. George had responded with sufficient enthusiasm to give Andy a buzz just talking about it, although with the unwelcome side effect of making him a little subdued in the days that had passed since. Now they were here again; as long as the others were amenable, there was absolutely no reason why they couldn’t hang around for a while. God knows, Andy deserved a bit of fun with all that was going on.

      Dan took off his seat belt and climbed out of the car. After half a minute of waiting for his brother to do likewise, he went around and opened the passenger door. Andy gave him a vague smile.

      You all right? Dan asked.

      Yeah.

      I’ll go pay for parking. Wait here, if you like.

      Andy followed him to the pay-and-display machine, drifting forward to get a better view of the ocean.

      Dan dealt with the ticket and joined him. Quiet out there.

      It won’t be. They watched a group of five younger men in wetsuits, all carrying boards, saunter past and down the slipway onto the beach. Andy sighed.

      Dan clapped him on the shoulder. I s’pose we’d best go find the happy couple. Let them know we’re here. As he finished speaking, his phone beeped. He read the text message aloud—Look up and left—following the instruction a second later. Josh and George waved at him from where they were sitting outside the bar, on a balcony overlooking the beach. He waved back and gave Andy a nudge.

      By the time they got there, George was standing at the bar, waiting to buy them a drink. Andy stayed to help; Dan went outside to join Josh.

      Bloody hell! Been a bit sunny, has it, mate?

      Yes, it has, Josh confirmed. Dan was still staring at him. I’m guessing I’ve caught the sun? I can’t see how. I’ve used about a ton of sunblock.

      It’s more your hair I was talking about.

      Oh. Josh had noticed himself it had gone lighter, but he hadn’t realised quite how much.

      When the other men came out, they essentially performed a rerun of the conversation, which made Josh and Dan laugh. The weather was as glorious as it had been all week, and Blue was lying in the shade of the table, his long coat kinked by four days of sea water and showers.

      Once they were all seated, Dan put forward his proposal. Are you all right to hang around for a few hours? Only, surfer dude— he glanced at his brother, who had that vacant, wistful expression again —might fancy a quick paddle.

      Josh and George looked at each other and shrugged.

      No problem here, George confirmed. You guys are doing the driving, so whatever works for you.

      Andy hadn’t heard a word. Dan shoved him.

      What?

      Go get yourself suited up.

      What?

      I said—oh, for fuck’s sake. Dan started laughing. Andy had drifted off again.

      Tell you what, George suggested, I’ll take him down there.

      Josh turned and examined him. You want to have a go yourself, don’t you?

      Yeah. I’ve never been surfing before.

      Why didn’t you say something earlier in the week?

      Been having too much fun eating strawberries and…stuff. He grinned. Fortunately, Josh’s tan was sufficient to hide his blush.

      When George had finished his drink, he got up and stopped next to Andy. Come on, then. Let’s go do this crazy thing.

      What? Andy asked.

      Surf.

      We’ve gotta leave soon.

      George looked to Dan for help.

      Go surf, bro. We’ve got a few hours before we need to head home.

      But Steph—

      I’ll give her a call now.

      And what about everyone else? Andy sounded like he was trying to find an excuse not to go surfing, but it wasn’t like that at all. Impulsive he might be, but selfish he was not, and it had taken him a long time to realise his actions could inadvertently be so.

      Josh could see the dilemma Andy was in, and decided to try a different approach. George wants you to show him how to surf.

      There’s a perfectly good surf school on the beach.

      And I’d like you to keep an eye on him for me.

      "But

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1